Hugh Jackman’s Early Road To Fatherhood Was Full Of ‘Painful’ Losses But He Called Adoption His ‘Destiny’

May 17, 2023

Hugh Jackman has become one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood, and rightly so. But more than his status as an A-list star, he is also the best dad to his children.

Hugh is an Australian actor who is best known for playing the role of Wolverine in the "X-Men" film franchise from 2000 to 2017. The star has gone on to have a successful career both commercially and critically. He has won a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, two Tony Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Hugh got his start working in theater and on television in Australia before he crossed over into the film industry in Hollywood.

The actor has played the lead role in such films as "Kate & Leopold," "Van Helsing," "The Prestige," and "Australia." Hugh also starred as Jean Valjean in the epic musical film "Les Misérables," for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Another popular musical film led by Hugh is "The Greatest Showman."

In his personal life, Hugh has been married to Deborra-Lee Furness since 1996. The couple met on an Australian TV show called "Correlli." They are a happy family now with two adopted children named Oscar, 23, and Ava, 17. Prior to adopting, Furness experienced two miscarriages. Together, Hugh and his wife overcame that hardship and now reside in New York with their beloved children.

Hugh is a family man, and he has his own father to thank for that. When the actor was 8 years old, his mother abandoned her five children due to postnatal depression to stay with family in England. Later, Hugh's sisters moved in with their mother while he and his two brothers remained in the care of his father in Australia.

Hugh first met Furness after landing his breakthrough role on the Australian series “Correlli,” in which she was the leading lady. Hugh recounted their love story to PEOPLE and said she made a great first impression on him.

“Deb, she was a big star. I get picked up, and Deb is in the front seat of the car. I’ll never forget. She took off her seatbelt and she turned around and put out her hand and took off her sunglasses and said, ‘Hi, I’m Deborra-lee Furness, nice to meet you.’ I remember thinking, ‘I like this girl,'” Hugh said.

He developed a serious crush on Furness but felt “unprofessional and embarrassing” for falling for her, who had already become his “best friend,” so he tried to push down his feelings. He then tried not speaking to her for days. Finally, at a party, she confronted him.

“She said, ‘I noticed you haven’t talked to me in like a week, what’s going on?’ I said, ‘I got a crush on you. I’ll get over it, I’m sorry.’ She goes, ‘Oh? Because I’ve got a crush on you too.’ I never in a million years thought she reciprocated,” Hugh recalled.

After four months of dating, Hugh popped the question to Furness, who was 13 years his senior and the pair were married in April 1996. Hugh marked their 27th wedding anniversary with a touching photo on Instagram and captioned it: “Together we have created a beautiful family. And life. Your laughter, your spirit, generosity, humor, cheekiness, courage and loyalty is an incredible gift to me. I love you with all my heart.”

While the couple aimed to have biological children at the start, their journey to parenthood turned out to be filled with challenges.

In an interview with The Herald Sun in 2011, Hugh opened up about how he and his wife originally planned on having kids of their own. But things didn't go as planned.

"We thought we'd have a kid or two biologically and then adopt," he said.

"But when we decided we'd had enough of IVF, we went ahead with adoption."

Hugh also shared how he felt when he couldn't have any children with his wife. "It was painful," Hugh said.

Like most parents who struggle to have children, Hugh shared in the same interview that the thought that he and his wife wouldn't have kids made him feel anxious.

"It's not easy. You put a lot of time and effort into it, so it's emotional. I think any parent can relate – trying to have children is wonderful and when you feel as though that's not going to happen, there's a certain anxiety that goes with it," he said.

But Hugh and Furness eventually came to accept that they could never have biological children. So, they decided to go ahead with adopting kids. Then again, Hugh said they don't see their children as adopted kids.

"From the moment we started the adoption process, all the anxiety went away. I don't think of them as adopted – they're our children. Deb and I are believers in … I suppose you could call it destiny," he said.

"We feel things happened the way they are meant to. Obviously, biologically wasn't the way we were meant to have children. Now, as we go through life together, sure there are challenges, but everyone's in the right place with the right people. It sounds airy-fairy, but it's something we feel very deeply," he added.

Despite him having one of the biggest names in the world, Hugh previously revealed in an interview that his son Oscar isn't really a fan of his work as an actor. But if we talk about Hugh as a dad, he is definitely on the top of his son's list. In fact, his son came to him one day to ask for advice on matters related to his personal life.

"Once he was on the beach. He was talking to a girl, he was about 13, he was talking to a girl, who I guess to be about 15, and he started walking towards me," he told Entertainment Tonight in an interview.

"He came up to me and he started walking ahead of the girl, and he goes, 'Dad, Dad, Dad, she's coming over. I told her you're Wolverine, just go with it.' I was like, 'I am the wingman for my 13-year-old boy," he added.

In 2019, Hugh opened up in an interview with PEOPLE about how his relationship with his children changed as they grew up.

"It's amazing to just have conversations with them. But it took a bit of readjusting. It went from 'Hey, guys, these are the rules, we don't do that,' to having to give them reasons why," he said.

What can you say about Hugh Jackman's relationship with his children? Do you also think he is the best father to them? Let us know your thoughts, and pass this on to anyone who might love to read this story!